Travers Smith saw its revenue dip slightly in the financial year ending 30 June, according to its provisional results, despite surpassing the £200m barrier for a second consecutive year.
Turnover fell 2% to £210m, while profit slipped just under 4% to £74.1m, though the firm pointed out turnover was still up 6% over the past two years. Profit per full equity partner remained steady at £1.3m, while revenue per lawyer increased by 6%.
The results contrast with those posted by many of its larger top 50 UK rivals, which have recorded healthy increases in revenue and profits, reflecting its traditional focus on the ultra-competitive field of private equity, where a host of US firms have been aggressively building their practices in recent years.
Travers Smith’s managing partner Edmund Reed, who is in his second term leading the firm, said: “These results demonstrate the resilience and underlying strength of our core business, even in a year marked by continued market volatility.
“Our focus on prioritising more profitable revenue in our strategic areas – transactions, disputes and investigations and complex advisory mandates – has continued to contribute strongly to the firm’s progress.”
He added: “Achieving these results is only possible thanks to the drive and expertise of our people and the trust we earn from our clients. We’re incredibly proud of our culture – it’s what makes us different and allows our teams to perform at their best for our clients.”
The firm highlighted a wide range of CSR and ESG initiatives it had undertaken, as well as the firm’s lateral hiring activity, which included closing its Paris office and opening in Brussels, along with two senior private equity hires and the arrival of insolvency and restructuring expert Mandip Englund as a partner. It also promoted nine lawyers to partner.
The firm’s clients include healthcare provider Assura and regular private equity clients Inflexion Partners and 65 Equity Partners, as well as Carlyle and Mitsubishi Estate.
It also represented Hewlett-Packard in the £700m quantum judgment against the estate of the late Michael Lynch, in the long-running litigation concerning HP’s purchase of Autonomy in 2011, having initially sought $5bn.
Travers Smith’s senior partner Andrew Gillen said: “Despite continued turbulence across the world and choppy economic and market conditions, we have achieved a great deal over the past year to maintain our strong position. I feel a real sense of energy and optimism across the firm as we move quickly to address our clients’ needs in a fast-changing world.
He concluded: “We have shown resilience and adaptability in a tough market, and we’ll continue our focus on transactional markets, disputes and complex advisory work. With our reputation, deep understanding and focused approach, I truly believe we are well placed to capitalise on developing market trends to deliver sustainable growth.”
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